DESIGN ARCHITECT : STUDIO IDE
BRIEF
Complete rehab of a 550 sq.ft. space
STATUS
Completed 2010
All Photo©Candice C. Cusic

This small studio unit was designed as an austere pallet of overlapping spaces and expressions. Subservient to the Client’s unique portfolio of Pop Art lithographs, the functional elements of open apartment living are hidden from view, allowing one to feel as though they’ve stepped into a gallery space wired for living rather an apartment space equipped to display art.

The unit’s only aperture opens to the north, framing Chicago’s iconic Lake Shore Drive; a view which seams together the dynamic composition of the undulating high-rise buildings with the fluidity of Lake Michigan. The image of these two worlds drove the organization of the unit’s interior. The sculptural interweaving of form and space speaks of the incidental voids amidst the City’s oscillating texture below.

Alternatively, the Client’s art collection is choreographed along the space’s west wall, becoming a spectacle of tranquility, a moment of pause similar to the calm found in looking onto the lake. The rare 2-sided lithographs are wall-mounted on hinged frames, offering the Client and his guests the ability to take all fragments in at once. Each time the work is engaged, the configuration changes. Over time, the wall shifts, adjusts and moves, becoming a real-time expression of the interplay between the viewer and his/her surroundings.

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Daycarecentre Willem Felsoord designed by Möhn + Bouman architekten, The project concerns the extension and renovation of an existing daycare centre for mentally disabled, situated in a natural wetland area near Delft, the Netherlands. The complicated limitations of the patients make the sensory and tactile quality of the building a key issue in the design process. The emotional wellbeing of this specific group and their ability for orientation is greatly determined by the building, both in shape, lighting and the use of materials. Every day, around 70 people between the age of 15 and 65 are visiting the centre.
Photo©Bart van Vlijmen

The extension is located on the backside of the building and forms an organic shape that is cladded with thatch. By using this natural material, the building dissolves into the garden and woodland surrounding it. Also, the use of thatch allows the covering of the irregular shape and serves as a sustainable material with very high insulation specifications due to the air pockets within the reeds. The thatch is applied according to a modern system, in which the reeds are bound on a closed wooden surface. This prevents fresh air from reaching the backside of the thatch. In this manner, an improved thermal insulation is obtained as well as a reduced fire hazard. Along with preventive coatings, the fire risk of the building is now equal to that of a brick building.

Photo©Möhn + Bouman architekten

The facades of the existing part are treated in two different ways. Those facing the public space are clad with silk-screened glass, based on a manipulated image of a thatch roof. The adjacent facades can only be perceived in perspective and are covered with a grid of thermally treated pinewood. This grid reacts on the forms of the thatch facade and is continued across all glass facades of the  building, uniting old and new.

Photo©Bart van Vlijmen

Between two parts of the old building, a new entrance has been built. In the entrance hall, both the thatch-facade and the pine-wood facade are continued into the interior, ending in the form of a huge sky-light hovering over the reception desk.

In the garden, subtle height differences are introduced in order to give the clients a safe feeling and prevent them from running off or starting to wander around the building. By doing so, less visible fences are needed around the building, allowing the open and transparent atmosphere that suits a building with this specific function.

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The City of Frederiksberg, Denmark, the Danish Foundation for Culture and Sport Facilities and Realdania announced MVRDV and ADEPT winner of the House of Culture and Movement competition in Frederiksberg, Denmark.
Copyright MVRDV/ADEPT

The building is a new urban typology with its mix of community center, exhibition and performance, playground, park and health center. The House of Culture and Movement is aimed to engage the population of Frederiksberg in a healthy and active life style. The 4,000 m2 building is set in 4,500m2 public gardens and is the first in a series of 3 buildings. The first phase is to be completed in 2015 and has a total budget of 17 million Euro.

Copyright MVRDV/ADEPT

The main ambition for the House of Culture and Movement is to offer the Flintholm neighborhood a dynamic meeting point for people of all ages taking part in a wide range of activities. Health, culture, leisure and education should smoothly blend together to create a spectacular architectural experience that will become a destination.

Copyright MVRDV/ADEPT

The main building, the House of Culture and Movement, or Ku-Be (Kultur- og Bevægelseshus) is a rectangular glass volume containing six stacked ideal programmatic elements. The space in-between can be programmed flexibly as a ‘play zone’ with various activities and main circulation. The stacked elements hold more specific uses: a theater, a health zone, food zone, a zen area, a study center and exhibition hall, fitness and activity center, a wellness center and an area for the administration. The theater is flexible and can be used in different stage and audience settings; in addition its large window allows it to be used as an open air theater where the public stays in the garden. The building is a truly multifunctional public center which engages its users.

Copyright MVRDV/ADEPT

The 3 volumes are wrapped in an ‘urban curtain’ that acts as frame for the garden. It offers great flexibility and can be used for art projects, bicycle parking, water and light installations, performances – and curtains.

The garden, designed in collaboration with SLA landscape architects, is fit for multiple uses acting as an activated, spectacular public space for the area. The landscaping follows the themes of the interior of the House of Culture and Movement with a performance area, health and activity zones, a quiet zone, connecting zones and an empty zone reserved for House of Culture and Movement 2.

The project will be phased. The House of Movement, the garden and the urban curtain will be first realizations. In later stages a commercial building and a second House of Movement will be added. Climate and energy technology is based on reliable technologies such as solar panels, natural ventilation and underground hot and cool storage resulting in a highly efficient low energy building.

The project is designed by MVRDV, Rotterdam, and ADEPT, Copenhagen, in a joint effort with SLA landscape architects, Søren Jensen engineers, Imitio, Winnie Ricken, Copenhagen, Max Fordham, London, and Ducks Scèno, Paris. Earlier MVRDV and ADEPT teamed up and won the competition for the Roedovre Sky Village, a flexible mix-use skyscraper currently in development.

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Image ©UAP

Leading international art-based design studio Urban Art Projects (UAP) today announced their collaboration with artist Ned Kahn and the Brisbane (Australia) Airport Corporation (BAC) to convert Brisbane’s new Domestic Terminal short-term multi-level car park in to an eight-storey kinetic public art project.
After being engaged by BAC for the project Urban Art Projects commissioned established American artist Ned Kahn who is known for his innovative works throughout North America and Europe.

Image ©UAP

Kahn, who has developed an international following for his artworks that incorporate the use of natural elements such as wind and light will collaborate with UAP and BAC’s design team to create a 5000 Sq m kinetic façade for the new Domestic Terminal short-term car park.

Viewed from the exterior, Kahn’s proven concept for one side of the car park will appear to ripple and move due to the wind passing behind 250,000 aluminium panels. Inside the car park, intricate patterns of light and shadow will be projected onto the walls and floor as sunlight passes through the kinetic façade. In addition to revealing the ever-changing patterns of the wind, the artwork has many environmental benefits by being designed to also provide ventilation and shade for the interior of the car park.

The new Domestic Terminal short-term multi-level car park is one part of a significant upgrade of the Brisbane Domestic Terminal and will also provide 5,300 undercover car spaces across nine levels, state-of-the-art way-finding technology, and innovative safety and security measures.

The new car park and Ned Kahn public art façade will be completed and on display in late 2011.

Client :Brisbane Airport Corporation
Location: Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Artist: Ned Kahn
Art work tiltle : Turbulent Line
Architect : Hassell Sydney
Curatorial UAP, Natasha Davies
Design: UAP Studio, Daniel Clifford

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010
Designed by Jean Nouvel
© Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Photograph: John Offenbach

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010 by Jean Nouvel from O Production Ltd. on Vimeo.

This year—the Serpentine’s 40th Anniversary—the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion is designed by world-renowned French architect Jean Nouvel. This 2010 Pavilion is the 10th commission in the Gallery’s annual series, the world’s first and most ambitious architectural programme of its kind. It will be the architect’s first completed building in the UK.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010
Designed by Jean Nouvel
© Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Photograph: John Offenbach

The Pavilion commission has become an international site for architectural experimentation and follows a long tradition of Pavilions by some of the world’s greatest architects. The immediacy of the commission – a maximum of six months from invitation to completion – provides a unique model worldwide.

The design for the 2010 Pavilion is a contrast of lightweight materials and dramatic metal cantilevered structures. The entire design is rendered in a vivid red that, in a play of opposites, contrasts with the green of its park setting. In London, the colour reflects the iconic British images of traditional telephone boxes, post boxes and London buses.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010
Designed by Jean Nouvel
© Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Photograph: John Offenbach

The building consists of bold geometric forms, large retractable awnings and a sloped freestanding wall that stands 12m above the lawn. Striking glass, polycarbonate and fabric structures create a versatile system of interior and exterior spaces, while the flexible auditorium will accommodate the Serpentine Gallery Park Nights and Marathon and the changing summer weather.

Nouvel’s Serpentine Gallery Pavilion will operate as a public space, a café and as a venue for Park Nights, the Gallery’s acclaimed programme of public talks and events, which attracts up to 250,000 visitors each summer. The pavilion design highlights the idea of play with its incorporation of traditional French outdoor table-tennis tables.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010
Designed by Jean Nouvel
© Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Photograph: John Offenbach

The Pavilion opens on July 10 on the Serpentine Gallery lawn, where it will remain until October. Jean Nouvel will be discussing the groundbreaking design of the Pavilion at a talk, on Monday 12 July at 5pm.

Julia Peyton-Jones, Director, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, Co-Director, Serpentine Gallery, said: “It is an honour to bring Nouvel’s globally acclaimed work to London for everyone to enjoy.”

There is no budget for the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion commission. It is paid for by sponsorship, sponsorship help-in-kind and the sale of the finished structure, which does not cover more than 40% of its cost. The Serpentine Gallery collaborates with a range of companies and individuals whose support makes it possible to realise the Pavilion. On the occasion of this 10th anniversary, the Pavilion program this year is being supported by Arts Council England, through its Sustain programme.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010
Designed by Jean Nouvel
© Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Photograph: John Offenbach

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010
Designed by Jean Nouvel
© Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Photograph: John Offenbach

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010
Designed by Jean Nouvel
© Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Photograph: John Offenbach

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010
Designed by Jean Nouvel
© Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Photograph: John Offenbach

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010
Designed by Jean Nouvel
© Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Photograph: John Offenbach

Henning Larsen Architects wins Georgian Aquarium

Batumi Aquarium is inspired by the characteristic pebbles of the Batumi beach – the residue of dynamic seas continually shaping the shorefront throughout millennia. The building will be situated in the Georgian port of Batumi and will stand out as an iconic rock formation – visible from both land and sea.

Diagram courtesy Henning Larsen Architects

The formation constitutes four self-supporting exhibition areas where each of the four stones represents a unique marine biotype – the Aegean Sea & the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Black Sea & the Red Sea and finally the more interactive exhibition.

Diagram courtesy Henning Larsen Architects

The four dispersed aquarium exhibitions are connected by a central, multipurpose space including café, auditorium and retail functions with views of the black sea and Batumi beach as scenic backdrop. Visitors gather in the central space to convene, play, eat, shop and relax before continuing their adventures through the exhibitions.

Image courtesy Henning Larsen Architects

Batumi Aquarium will become a modern, cultural aquarium offering visitors an educational, entertaining and visually stimulating journey through the different seas. Unfolding around the aquarium, a landscape of different sea archipelagos provides attractive opportunities for innovative outdoor research and learning, public space and meeting places along the beach.

The building’s significant expression inspired by nature will not only make Batumi Aquarium a spectacular new landmark in Georgia but also a state-of-the-art contribution to exploring life underneath the sea surface.

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Project Facts

Batumi Aquarium
Rustaveli Str., Batumi
The Republic of Georgia

Client: Association A.T.U.
Architect: Henning Larsen Architects
Gross floor area: 2,000 m2

Type of assignment: First prize in invited competition. Other participants
were the German architecture company Drei Architekten as well as the two American companies PJA Architects and Pryor & Morrow Architects.

The project team from Henning Larsen Architects includes Louis Becker (design director, partner) Anders Park (project manager), Viggo Haremst (design responsible), Michael Sørensen and Jaewoo Chun.

XPO – BJARKE BIKES THROUGH DANISH PAVILION from BIG on Vimeo.

The architect of Danish Pavilion Bjarke Ingles shows us his design on Danish Pavilion through his bike. Interesting presentation method! I’ve got this vdo via DAC

Project Name  –  Bombay Arts Society
Architect – Sanjay Puri Architects

Project Description

Fluid forms enmeshed together in parts emerging from each other in parts constitute this small building.

Within an extremely small plot measuring only 1300 sq. mts, a mixed use building programme based on the clients needs had to be adhered to. Art gallery spaces, an auditorium, a cafeteria and artists rooms had to be planned within 1000 sq. mt and another 1000 sq.mt of office spaces were to be provided for, each with separate entrances.

Fluid spaces across the three lower levels, house the art gallery spaces and their allied functions with walls flowing into roofs homogenously. The fluidity of form seen externally, with a concrete skin encapsulating spaces while undulating in both the horizontal and vertical planes, is carried through to the interior volumes making the entire experience as that of moving through a sculpture.

A separate entrance lobby at the rear corner leads one up vertically into a four level office space that is angled to allow the offices unrestricted views of the ocean in the distance.The office spaces are encapsulated in a concrete skin punctuated volume with floor to ceiling glass panels in the direction of the sea.

Thus within this small 1300 sq.mt plot two distinct set of spaces are created, each with its own  discernible identity and yet enmeshed together to create a uniquely sculptural building.

Thailand’s proposed presentation at the 2010 World Expo is encapsulated in the theme “Thainess: A Sustainable Way of Life”. A specially constructed 3,117 square-metre Thailand Pavilion will be the venue for presenting Thailand’s exhibits and cultural performances.

via http://thailandexpo2010.com

The Design of the Thailand Pavilion

The Thailand Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo will feature elegant design motifs that are distinctively Thai, thereby emphasizing Thailand’s unique culture and artistry.

via http://thailandexpo2010.com

Guided by the concept of “Thai Perspectives”, the pavilion designers have incorporated interesting elements of the Thai lifestyle, as well as the country’s visually outstanding artistic and architectural expressions, into its spatial arrangement and overall structure. The result is well worth the effort. Without a doubt, even when viewed from the outside, the pavilion’s elegant form and finesse will do much to impart to the spectators the splendour of things Thai.

via http://thailandexpo2010.com

Exhibition Hall 1: A Journey of Harmony

Concept: The cycle of life by the water

Supporting themes:

“The perfect blend of cultures in a golden land”
“Journeys Back to Old Siam”

The first exhibition hall introduces visitors to the Thai way of life. Visitors will be invited to travel back in time to experience the lifestyle of early Siamese during their nascent statehood, and the melding together of peoples and cultures in this golden land. The exhibits will also tell the story of the Thais’ affinity with rivers and canals that provide nourishment and means of transport, and the cycle of life that flourishes beside these waterways.

via http://thailandexpo2010.com

via http://thailandexpo2010.com

Exhibition Hall 2: A Harmony of Different Tones

Concept: Trade and interaction with foreign states as impetus for development and progress

Supporting themes:

“Land of Ancient Civilizations”
“Rice Bowl of the World”
“Friendship across Borders”
“Centuries of Thai-Chinese Ties”

Hall 2 depicts the long-standing interaction between Thailand and other countries; including the former Imperial China and the China of today whose close relations with Thailand have led to the two being called “sibling states.” Exposure to traders from different lands led to the natural blending of indigenous Thai customs with the ways of the foreigners. Many such influences have become firmly embedded in the fabric of Siamese society and are now part of the lifestyle of modern Thais.

The exhibits also highlight the interaction between the urban and rural communities. Despite decades of intensive development and the apparent economic disparity between these sectors, Thai people everywhere always share a common trait: a love of peace and harmony, the unmistakable signature of being Thai.

via http://thailandexpo2010.com

Exhibition Hall 3: Happiness through Harmony

Concept: Sufficiency Philosophy as guiding light towards sustainable peace and harmony

“Life and Living in 21st Century Thailand”
“Happiness for All”
“The Monarch Who Points the Way to Happiness”

Hall 3 concludes the concept of our exhibition. Here, visitors will be shown the defining aspects of being Thai. Despite the veneer of technological sophistication and the international way of living that we have adopted, deep down in the soul of every Thai, we still value a life of simplicity that follows the idea of “sufficiency” in all things we do; for we believe it is the only true path that will lead to lasting happiness.

via http://thailandexpo2010.com

PROJECT: EXHIBITION IN POLISH PAVILION FOR EXPO 2010, SHANGHAI
DESIGNED BY: Boris Kudlicka, Marcin Mostafa + Natalia Paszkowska (WWAA) CLIENT: Polish Agency for Enterprise Development AREA: ca 1500 sqm
YEAR: design 2009, construction 2010
BUDGET: ca 9 000 000 PLN

THE PROJECT CONCEPT

In the contemporary world with its abundance of visual experience, with the pictorial language of communication reigning supreme, with the almost unconstrained and instant accessibility of iconographic material, an exposition piece of architecture will only be attractive insofar it can offer perceptual sensations attainable only through direct, unmediated exposure to out-of- the-ordinary, singular stimuli, insofar it can provide a quality of experience born out of the chemistry of inter-sensory stimulation.

Given the nature of the exposition, the exhibition facility has to denote, by its esthetic distinctiveness, the country of origin, has to constitute, by the strength of its stylistic connotations, an evocative, recognizable and memorable cultural ideogram. In our design, the cultural idiom is primarily conveyed through the theme, the motif of folk-art paper cut-out.

Or, more precisely, through a rendering of the motif, a transcription of an elementary esthetic code into the contemporary language of architectural décor. The transcription rationale was twofold. First of all, we did not wish the design to be literally folklorish, a mechanical multiplication of convention-approved set patterns.

The intention was for the structure décor to draw on and make reference to tradition, but ultimately to be that tradition’s contemporary reinterpretation, a creative extension into the present day by way of inspiration rather than replication.

Secondly, we aspired to make the structure in its own right, in a purely architectural dimension, a significant landmark, a showcase of Polish design achievements. That it should be an attractive, eye-catching exterior both in daylight, against the panorama of other Expo facilities, as well as a mesmerizing experience at night with the edifice drawn by the multi-colored light seeping through the cut-out patterns.

And reversely, that it should provide inside visitors with comparable experience by shaping the outer skin patterning in such a way that the sun rays shining through would chisel, by light and shade, the space under the vault. The structure’s overall shape, with many slanting planes, on the one hand complements and rounds out, by the suggestion of a folded sheet of paper, the ‘cut-out’ narrative, on the other creates inside a geometrically intriguing and flexible space that can be creatively apportioned, by inner divisions, to different exhibition, performance and utility functions and uses.

FUNCTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AND EXHIBITION DESIGN

The outside structure of the pavilion and its reflection in the proposed arrangement of its inside functions impose on the visitors taking and following a route which is consistent with the logic of the building. The entrance way – an interlude between an inside and outside body of the construction, is accessible from the square marked out between the pavilions. The partial roof created by the fold in the building, allows for providing a shelter for the queues of visitors. Next the visitors proceed to the main, full-height exhibition area of the pavilion. Auxiliary functions, a shop and a restaurant have been designed in the lowest part of the building while the higher part of the pavilion hosts the main exhibition area.

The interior design is a continuation of the architectural idea of the form of the building and the details of the facade. The aesthetic concept of the pavilion is brought inside and the folk cut-outs lead the visitors through the entrance into the main hall and then, while transforming into other patterns, are continuously guiding them along all the exhibition.

The usage of the cut- out patterns has not only an aesthetic value, but also an educational function associated with the main theme of the EXPO: „better cities-better life”. The cut-outs changing from the folk forms into organic ones and finally into a city-map and industrial patterns are a metaphor of migration of people from countryside into cities. The story that the patterns are suppose to tell is the base for the presented images and films showing Poland through its history, culture, economy and every-day life. The design of the cut-outs goes with the presented on it contents changing along the visitors’ route.

The outer layer of the elevation, with its characteristic design inspired by a traditional folk-art paper cut-out, is made of impregnated CNC plotter-cut plywood mounted on steel construction modules with steel substructure. Panel wall elements PC are mounted on the outer side of the modules. Both the exterior, entrance way surface and the interior of the pavilion will be covered with impregnated wooden flooring.

The choice of materials and the character of construction were to a large extent dictated by the idea of possible future reclaiming and recycling of the pavilion structure or its parts, e.g. by reconstructing it in one of the Polish cities after the closing of EXPO. The colorist effects were determined by the choice of plywood panels in natural wood color. When the dusk falls the elevation will acquire different colors according to the changes of light penetrating the cut-out patterns.

LANDSCAPING

The entrance yard constitutes the integral part of the ground floor of the pavilion. The pattern of the exterior flooring divisions as well as the material used are continued inside the building.